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Posted on: February 28, 2020

City Encourages Community to Email State to help Protect Wastewater Treatment Plant

The City of Branson is encouraging residents, community members, and stakeholders to email the Missouri Department of Economic Development (DED), at mocdbg-mit@ded.mo.gov, to express support for spending federal grant money towards a flood protection system for Branson’s Compton Drive Waste Water Plant, located along Lake Taneycomo, which is at extreme risk of flood damage.

The DED is seeking public comment on how the state should spend $41 million in grant money. Emails and feedback from the community are part of the scoring process to determine where this grant money goes. This is part of the Community Development Block Grant – Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) funding allocated to Missouri by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. These funds represent an opportunity for the state to assist areas impacted by the 2017 floods with the implementation of projects that will help communities mitigate and reduce future disaster risks.

The City of Branson is seeking $10 million of the CDBG-MIT grant to fortify the Compton Waste Water Treatment Plant from future flooding. This wastewater treatment plant is used to provide sewage treatment for residents and businesses in the City and a large area in Taney County north of Branson City limits. Since 2011, this facility has been threatened by floodwaters during multiple flooding events which have resulted in historic water releases from Table Rock Dam.

In 2017, the City invested in a portable temporary flood protection system to extend the height of the facility by approximately five additional feet. For permanent protection of the facility, the City’s consultant has recommended a nine-foot-high flood wall around the parameter of the facility.

City officials encourage area residents, community members, stakeholders, and businesses to let the DED know how important it is to permanently fortify this facility, as a loss of this facility would result in catastrophic environmental damage that would include millions of gallons of raw sewage spilling into Lake Taneycomo.

More information about CDBG-MIT funding can be found online at https://ded.mo.gov/programs/cdbg/mitigation. Printed copies of the Action Plan can be requested by calling 844-847-0499. The public is encouraged to submit comments through April 4, 2020, at the above email address or by letter, addressed to:

Attn: MO CDBG-MIT

P.O. Box 118 Harry S. Truman Building

Jefferson City, MO 65102

You can find a form letter to email or print out, on our website, at https://bit.ly/2w759Af. For any questions about this grant, please call the City of Branson’s Finance Department at 417-337-8529 or email the Finance Director, Jamie Rouch at jrouch@bransonmo.gov.

Pictured: The Compton Drive Wastewater Treatment Plant surrounded by the temporary, portable, flood protection system that the City purchased in 2017.